It can be recalled that Nora Aunor was arrested in Los Angeles back in 2005 for allegedly possessing methamphetamine, popularly known as shabu. Charges were dropped in 2007 after she complied to be taken to a rehabilitation center.

Aunor has also spoken out on the issue, stating that her “thoughts are stars [she] cannot fathom into constellations.”

“Inaamin ko pong nasaktan ako sa nangyari,” she said in the statement. “But you don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world… but you do have some say in who hurts you,” she added.

She also stated that the overwhelming support that she has received from fans, clergy, and fellow artists was enough. “Iniluklok naman ako ng mga kababayan ko, habang buhay sa kanilang mga puso, bilang isang artista ng bayan.

In response to this, an online petition was launched by the Nora Aunor for National Artist Movement to proclaim the actress as the Filipino people’s National Artist. The petition is based on the principles of a democratic and Republican State stated in Article 2, Section 1 of the Almighty 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Meanwhile, fellow artists organized a forum at the Ateneo de Manila University to diss the Great Leader and to discuss the issue.

5 things PNoy apparently didn’t know about Nora Aunor’s drug case
Nora Aunor’s lawyer in the U.S. said in an official statement on Friday that the actress has “an unblemished record under U.S. law” and blasted at length President Benigno Aquino III’s official reason for denying her the National Artist award — that she had been “convicted and punished” in a drug case.
Atty. Claire Navarro Espina argued that the Philippine government “cannot create the fiction” that her client was ever convicted when American jurisprudence says otherwise.
Following are 5 things the President apparently did not know about the 2005 case, according to Espina, who swore to the accuracy of the details of her statement “under penalty of perjury”.
1. In practical terms, the case never happened.
The judge dismissed it two years after Aunor was booked for alleged possession of a controlled substance found in her luggage at the Los Angeles Airport.
“Ms. Aunor has no record of conviction in any U.S. jurisdiction precisely because she was never sentenced and hence, never convicted,” Espina said.
“In fact, the other day when I sought the retrieval of her files in connection with media request, the Clerk of the Court informed me that her file has been sealed by order of the Court,” she added.
“Under California law, the arrest is deemed to never have happened.”
2. Aunor was charged for alleged possession, not for using drugs.
The drug in question, according to a legal report by another Los Angeles-based lawyer, Roman Mosqueda, was 8 grams of metamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu). The “controlled substance,” Espina narrated, was “found in a man’s athletic shoe in her luggage”, which was “packed, handled, and carried by her entourage”.
Espina said Aunor’s “entourage fled, leaving her, literally, holding the bag”.
3. She did not spend any time in jail.
Upon being booked for felony drug possession at the L.A. Police Department in Van Nuys, Aunor was immediately released on a bond secured by Espina’s firm, Edelberg & Espina.
“She never spent time in jail, nor was she incarcerated for any offense,” Espina said.
4. She did not go to rehab.
“Ms. Aunor enrolled in two civil diversion programs with certain conditions tailored to accommodate her specific situation. Unlike other participants, she was never in any drug detoxification or residential treatment program. She was not subjected to medical treatment,” Espina revealed.
Those programs involved “intense counseling and educational sessions that provided her with problem solving and coping skills”.
5. She was found to be clean as a whistle.
“Ms. Aunor underwent and passed more than 40 random drug tests administered by numerous court-approved laboratory facilities, in various locations in the United States,” Espina declared.
“So long as she attended all her counseling sessions and passed all her laboratory tests, she was free to live her life and pursue her profession,” the lawyer added.
Aunor held concerts and charity events across the U.S. in the two years between her arrest and the dismissal of her case.